


Day 11: Love Token

by thebright1



Series: An Ineffable Plan: A Canon Compliant Love Story [11]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxious Aziraphale (Good Omens), Aziraphale is "just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing" (Good Omens), Crowley to the Rescue (Good Omens), Crowley's Name is Crawly | Crawley (Good Omens), Fluff and Angst, Flying, Kind of a Crack Idea, M/M, Noah's Ark, Oblivious Aziraphale (Good Omens), Questioning Religion, Snake Crowley (Good Omens), Treated Seriously, Unicorns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22672591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebright1/pseuds/thebright1
Summary: Crawly gives a long pause while he thinks. Outside, the rain lashes against the Ark. “Not really sure how to describe it. Kind of like a pins and needles feeling. And then I just knew it was you, and you wanted to see me.”
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/crawly
Series: An Ineffable Plan: A Canon Compliant Love Story [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620406
Comments: 11
Kudos: 135





	Day 11: Love Token

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series. Each story can be read as a stand alone or you can read the whole thing. This story picks up directly after Day 9. This is part of the Ineffable Valentines challenge on Tumblr as well.
> 
> All the works in this series are also posted as a chaptered work for easier reading/downloading: [ An Ineffable Plan](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23081191/chapters/55213303)

3004 BC

Aziraphale has been taking Crawly’s advice and not asking questions. He was reporting back to Heaven every few months, then every few years. Now only once a decade. No one seems to mind. He just stops in, casually walks around, looking at all the other angels. He sees Gabriel, gives him a short update on how things are going on Earth. 

Gabriel doesn’t have time to chat. He looks very bored by the updates, so Aziraphale tries to make them shorter and more exciting. When he mentions Cain murdering his brother, Gabriel yawns. When he talks about Cain’s sons, Gabriel nods and stares vaguely into the distance. 

In the past five hundred years, he’s called Aziraphale by the wrong name 57 times. Each time he laughs and says, ”Sorry these human bodies all look the same to me. I promise I’ll remember next time, Azra Fell.” He doesn’t remember. He even makes the same joke over and over. 

The 58th time Aziraphale cuts him off mid-sentence, his lips set in a tight line. He’s irritated. “I know, it’s hard to remember since all these human bodies look the same, but my name is Aziraphale, and I have been reporting to you for 500 years now.” 

Gabriel is suddenly deathly quiet. Aziraphale thinks he has offended Gabriel, but he reminds himself that Gabriel is an angel, a being of love, just like himself, not prone to irrational rages like the humans. He can’t tell if Gabriel looks angry or not, because he hasn’t spent enough time around angels to be able to tell unless they’re wearing a human corporation. The silence that surrounds Gabriel is absolute. An absence of sound, like the world’s been sucked away. Part of Aziraphale wants to cower. Part of him wants to smile gently and laugh to cover his unease. But another part of him is very, very stubborn, and that part is winning. 

Aziraphale hears a chime and suddenly Gabriel stands before him, in a human corporation, completely naked. Gabriel makes a face, stretching all the muscles out. “Oh, it’s so gross in here,” he complains. He shakes his shoulders. “Wow, Azira . . . “ he trails off. 

“Aziraphale,” Aziraphale says, a little gentler now, because he is a being of love. 

“Aziraphale,” Gabriel says. He sticks out his tongue and shakes it a bit. “Wow it’s hard to get that out with this tiny mouth. I feel so constricted.” He looks at Aziraphale. “I can’t believe you’ve been in that body for 500 years already! It feels like you were just born yesterday.” 

Aziraphale did not know that joke when Crawly told it to him. He understands it now and is not amused. “Yes, well, it was 500 years ago.” 

Gabriel smiles. It looks a bit menacing. “That’s right! And you’ve done a great job! All those humans down there, alive, doing whatever it is they want. God is pleased, I’m sure.” 

Aziraphale softens a bit. “Oh. . . oh you think so? I haven’t heard from her since . . . well, since just after Adam and Eve left the Garden,” he says. He purposefully avoids discussing the question God asked him. He hopes Gabriel won’t ask so he doesn’t have to think of a creative way to say “I gave it away.”

“I know so!” Gabriel says. He seems suddenly much more enthusiastic. “And I think you’ve done such a good job . . . you don’t really need to report in every ten years.”

“Oh.” Aziraphale has a suspicious feeling about this, but he stamps it down in the back of his mind. Gabriel is an angel, just like him. “Oh, you don’t think so?” 

“Nah,” Gabriel says. He shakes his head side to side, then his hands come up to stop it. “Wow, that makes me dizzy.”

“It . . . uh. . . takes some getting used to. The non verbal communication,” Aziraphale says helpfully.

“I guess so. Anyway, yeah, I think we could go maybe once a century? Things are going so well down there! Lots and lots of humans!” 

So Aziraphale leaves Heaven and comes back to Earth. And he reports back to Gabriel four more times. Each time Gabriel appears in a new corporation. It’s a bit disconcerting to see a new face every time he goes back. The reports continue on much as they did before, but Gabriel remembers his name every time now. Nothing much changes. Humans are born, they procreate, they die. Some die before they procreate. Accidents or disease. Aziraphale feels bad for the parents when this happens, but he does all he can to reassure them that God is kind, and loving, and She will take care of them after. He feels the glow of God’s love within him when he says this and knows it to be true. Everything is going fine, until . . . 

3004 BC

Aziraphale watches Noah and his family load the animals on the Ark. He wrings his hands nervously. He’s a week back from his meeting with Gabriel. He didn’t want to believe what Gabriel told him. He’d left Heaven in a state of shock. God couldn’t actually do this, could She? Kill everyone? It seems . . . wrong. Completely at odds with the feeling in his heart. With the love he feels burning within him. Love for Her people. 

He’s been on his own almost completely for a millenium. The humans have been nice enough to talk to, nice enough company. But he can’t tell them this. He needs to talk to someone. The other angels look at him in his human corporation with a slight sense of disgust. It’s not his fault he was issued one almost immediately, but it means that he’s an outcast. Gabriel stuffs himself into a new human corporation every time they speak. He still appears completely naked every time. Clothes seem to be a concept no one has explained to him. 

He needs to talk to someone about this. What should he do? Is this really God’s plan? Gabriel said it was. And he knows he shouldn’t ask questions. But his mind keeps circling back. Should he be doing something? If so, what? What can he do? He looks around him at the humans. Some of them laugh at Noah’s family. Some of them offer to help in exchange for passage. Others are packing up their families and leaving. He wants to talk to someone. Someone else who has the same immortal life span he does. Someone else who’s wondered what God was up to. Someone who . . . questions. 

There’s only one being Aziraphale knows who has ever questioned God. Well, one being he’s personally met. Aziraphale thinks about the link he planted between himself and Crawly and feels immediately guilty. A thousand years and he’s never once reached out. To be fair, Crawly hasn’t reached out to him. Although . . . he frets. That might be because he can’t use it. Aziraphale hadn’t really known what he was doing when he made the link. It might not work. He’d been so new at everything back then. 

He feels a cool wind blow. Storm clouds are gathering. He takes a deep breath. It’s now or never. 

He closes his eyes and thinks,  _ Crawly, are you busy? Could you . . . could we meet?  _ He feels a tingle in the base of his spine. It’s slightly reassuring. That’s how he expected it would work. Now . . .

“Hello Aziraphale!” 

*******

The rain starts as a spattering, then proceeds to a steady drizzle. Aziraphale looks over at Crawly. It rained the last time they met, too. “Do you still hate the rain?” Aziraphale asks, for want of better conversation. He’s not keen on bringing his wings out in front of all these mortals, but at the same time he’s not above making a small miracle to keep Crawly dry. He did come at Aziraphale’s behest, even if Aziraphale hadn’t quite been able to bring himself to ask the questions he’d had. Seeing Crawly had given him answers, though. It was up to God. Her will, Her plan, The Ineffable Plan. Just being in the position of defending God to Crawly had helped his conviction, helped put him back on the right path. Somewhat. 

Crawly shrugs. “Not so bad now. Gotten used to it. Though I can’t say I really care for the idea of drowning in rain.”

Aziraphale nods, his mouth set in a grim line. “I’m supposed to go on the Ark.” 

Crawly looks at him. “Is that an invitation?”

“Well . . .” Aziraphale trails off looking anywhere but at Crawly. “I did ask you to come.” 

“Summon me, you mean?” 

Aziraphale looks at him wide eyed and panicked. “No! Did I?” he asks, aghast. “That is not it at all what I meant to do . . . I . . . I . . .”

Crawly laughs. “Ha! I knew you didn’t know what you were doing back then!” 

Aziraphale feels confused and slightly ashamed. “I didn’t,” he admits. The rain is picking up. “Come inside, no one will notice you if you . . uhh. . . disguise yourself appropriately . . . and . . . I’d like to talk some more . . . if you’re not busy.” 

Crawly grins. He sticks his serpent tongue out. “Sure, angel.” His body goes boneless and shrinks into the form of a snake. He looks up at Aziraphale and hisses, slithering his way towards the Ark. 

Onboard, it’s utter chaos. Aziraphale does his best to make sure Crawly doesn’t get stepped on by any of the humans or animals. He sees the hoof of a cow come down near Crawly’s head and lurches forward, grabbing Crawly and lifting him up to cradle him against his chest. Crawly turns his head to face Aziraphale and hisses at him. “I’m sorry about this, but I won’t have your discorporation on my conscience,” he murmurs. 

Aziraphale finds space in the stall designated for the unicorns. He opens the wooden door and shoos the remaining unicorn out. He gives it a firm pat on its rump, and a wordless missive to  _ find your mate and come back quickly!  _ The beast snorts and gallops through the ark. There are shouts of dismay and concern from Noah’s family, and cries from the animals that wish they had the same freedom. 

Inside the stall, he sets Crawly down lightly on the hay, doing his best to be as respectful as possible. Crawly hisses at him, and transforms back into his human corporation. “Piece of advice: don’t try that with a regular snake, or you’ll find yourself discorporated.”

Aziraphale nods. “Duly noted.”

“And don’t try it with me either, understand? Bloody angels and your bloody bleeding hearts. I’m not a pet.” 

“I would never imply such a thing,” Aziraphale says. Then, he looks sidelong at Crawly. “Even though you did come when called.” He holds Crawly’s gaze for a moment and then he does something very strange . . . he starts to giggle. 

Crawly looks at him, speechless. “Are you-- are you making fun of me?” 

Aziraphale giggles harder. “I . . . I don’t . . . mean to . . .” He is full on laughing now, holding his belly. He leans against the side of the stall and slides to the ground. He feels a bit hysterical. 

Crawly’s lips twist into something that’s half smirk and half smile. “Did something happen to you? You get hit in the head in the last thousand years?” 

Aziraphale continues laughing and laughing and then without quite knowing how or why he’s suddenly sobbing. He’s crying and crying and he can’t stop crying. It feels like he’ll never get all the sadness out of him. He puts his face in his hands and sobs, big racking huge gasps of breath and tears. The world around him fades away to a dull gray roar. 

He’s not sure how long he sits there, face buried in his hands. But when he finally starts to compose himself and looks up, Crawly is still sitting across from him, but he’s got a jug of wine. He takes a sip and then holds it out to Aziraphale. “Have a drink. World doesn’t end all the time.” 

Aziraphale hesitates for only a fraction of a second before accepting the jug. He puts it up to his mouth and takes a long swallow. The wine tastes so bad he almost spits it out. “This is terrible wine, Crawly.” 

Crawly frowns. “Didn’t taste bad to me.” 

Aziraphale makes a disgusted face, then takes another cautious sip. He coughs, trying not to gag. “Did you miracle this up?”

Crawly holds his hands out. “How else do you get wine?”

“From a winemaker!” Aziraphale says. “Human food is a human creation. You can’t miracle it up, it always tastes awful.” 

“Do you eat a lot of human food?”

Aziraphale smiles. “Oh, yes,” he says with enthusiasm. “It’s quite good.” 

Crawly raises an eyebrow. “Does Heaven know you do that?”

Aziraphale frowns. “Why do you ask?”

“Just not the kind of thing I can picture Gabriel doing.” 

Aziraphale sighs. “No, he doesn’t quite understand the humans,” he admits. “I’ve been trying to explain it all to him, but, well, it’s slow going.” He looks at Crawly. “How about your lot?” 

Crawly shrugs. “I’ve had human food. It’s all right. Not really my thing. But I do love their alcohol.”

“And the rest of Hell?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, most of them have never even been topside.” He stops suddenly, his eyes focusing in on Aziraphale like lasers. “Was this your plan, angel? Throw me off guard and pump me for information?”

“No!” Aziraphale says, horrified. “No, I was just . . . curious.”

“You’re supposed to be guiding the humans and thwarting my evils.” 

“Well, you haven’t exactly been doing much evil where I could thwart it,” Aziraphale says snippily. “A thousand years since I’ve seen you.” 

“Yeah, well I’ve been doing plenty of evil things, you could have come to find me. You’re the one that planted that . . . that love token in me.” 

“Love token!” Aziraphale cries. 

“Whatever you want to call it,” Crawly says. “Your professional calling card that you turned on today.” 

“Look, I . . . I didn’t exactly know what I was doing back then,” Aziraphale admits. He sniffs, and miracles a handkerchief to blow his nose and dab at his eyes. “Guess I still don’t quite know, as much as I try.” He looks at Crawly’s jug of demon miracle wine. “Shem has better wine in the pantry.” He waves his hand and a second jug appears. Aziraphale uncorks it and hands it to Crawly. “Try this.” 

Crawly purses his lips, but brings the jug up to drink anyway. His eyes close, and a delightful expression comes over his features. He puts the jug down and looks at Aziraphale appraisingly. “That’s pretty good, angel.” 

Aziraphale smiles. “The humans really are very good at making wine.” 

Crawly takes another pull from the jug, then passes it to Aziraphale. “What did you do today? I’ve never felt anything like it.”

Aziraphale takes a drink and leans forward, interested. “What was it like?”

Crawly gives a long pause while he thinks. Outside, the rain lashes against the Ark. “Not really sure how to describe it. Kind of like a pins and needles feeling. And then I just knew it was you, and you wanted to see me.” 

Aziraphale passes the jug of wine back to Crawly. “But you didn’t have to come, did you?”

Crawly chuckles. “No, no. I could have ignored you if I wanted to.” He takes a pull from the wine jug.

“Why didn’t you ignore me?” 

He leans back against the opposite wall of the stall, resting his elbows on his knees. He takes another drink of wine. “It’s been a thousand years. Thought if you were trying to reach me it must be important.” 

Aziraphale reaches to take the wine jug from Crawly’s hand. Crawly holds fast to it. “What did you do to me back then, angel? Tell me.” 

He sits back against the wall. “I don’t quite know. I really don’t. Oh, Crawly, I was so naive then. I had all these powers and no one had trained me, I didn’t know how so many things worked. Do you know I tried to miracle up water for Eve when she was in the desert? It was before I’d ever had water, I had no idea what it felt like or tasted like. I made a beautiful mirage for her and Adam when they were nearly dying of thirst. It almost drove them mad.”

Crawly leans forward, interested. “So you just made a picture of it?”

“I did, and I thought that’s all there was to it. I had no idea how this all worked. I’ve got a much better understanding now of what I can and can’t use a miracle to create. But what I did to you . . . I’m not sure. Have you-- have you ever tried to contact me?”

Crawly shakes his head. “Nope. What do I need an angel for? Thwarting me?”

“You never even tried?” Aziraphale feels a bit hurt, even though he suspected as much. 

“Aziraphale, if . . . if my lot even knew I’d spoken to you, even once . . .” he trails off. “It’s not called Hell because it’s a nice place.” 

Aziraphale understands. “I can’t say Gabriel would be very happy if he knew that I’d talked to you. Although I’ve never asked--”

“Don’t ask,” Crawly says definitively. 

“I’m not going to!” Aziraphale protests. He pulls the jug from Crawly’s fingers roughly, and takes a very large gulp. As he does so, the ground shifts underneath them. Crawly tumbles forward, and ends up with his head in Aziraphale’s lap. Aziraphale can feel the heat of Crawly’s body through his robes. His face is pressed to Aziraphale’s belly, his arms on either side of Aziraphale’s hips. 

Aziraphale looks down at him with wide eyes. “We’re moving,” he whispers. He sets the jug of wine down, gently pushing Crawly to the side. He goes to the door of the stall, opens it and stumbles out. 

“Aziraphale?’ Crawly calls after him. But Aziraphale is hurrying, down the row of stalls to the stairs. He takes them two at a time, hurrying to the deck of the ship. The rain is coming down hard and fast and it nearly knocks him to his knees. He’s soaked as soon as he leaves the shelter of the lower deck. He runs to the side of the ship, looking over the railing. Gray waters churn and swirl below. He searches the horizon, but there’s no sign of land anywhere in sight.  _ Oh, the unicorns _ . . . he thinks. 

A hand grabs his arm roughly, and pulls him back towards the shelter of the lower deck. Crawly. 

“What the hell are you doing?” he yells over the pounding rain and the wailing wind. 

“The unicorns!” Aziraphale shouts. “I sent one off to retrieve the one that got loose.” A wave rocks the ship and they tumble to their knees. Aziraphale grabs onto Crawly’s forearms in an attempt to steady himself. “I told them to both come back.”

“They’re not coming back!” Crawly tries to stand, finds himself thrown back to his knees. “God sure has it out for humanity!”

The ship rolls and they slide across the deck, catching themselves on the railing. Aziraphale finds himself face to face with the churning waters far below. 

And then he sees the unicorns. 

They’re swimming. Two small white faces and golden horns poking out in the waves. 

“There they are!” Aziraphale almost screams. He points a trembling finger down in the water. He turns to look at Crawly, just in time to see the demon dive off the edge of the Ark and plunge into the water below. “Crawly!”

He clings to the deck railing, watching as a figure in black emerges next to the unicorn. A moment later Crawly is soaring through the air, black wings beating hard. He’s got his hands under the unicorn’s belly and is trying to get it to the deck. Aziraphale understands Crawly’s plan and pulls himself to his feet, his wings bursting out behind him. He drops over the side of the ship, soaring, beating his wings frantically, looking for that other golden horn among the waves. 

He circles for hours. He circles long after Crawly has installed the one unicorn back in its stall. He circles until Crawly comes up and grabs his arm and tells him to come back, that it’s no use. 

Below decks, they sit in the stall with the one remaining unicorn, drinking Shem’s wine. They’re on the second jug between them when Crawly gets a glint in his eye and says, “I’ve got an idea.” 

Aziraphale doesn’t think it’s going to work. He tries to talk Crawly out of it. He appeals to Crawly’s logic. He appeals to Crawly’s better sense. Finally he tells Crawly that it’s part of God’s plan to get rid of all the unicorns. Crawly laughs at him. “Then here I am, thwarting God’s plans!” he snarls. He grabs hold of the unicorn’s horn and snaps his fingers and they both disappear. 

A few hours later, Crawly reappears in the unicorn’s stall in the ark. He’s dripping wet and laughing maniacally. He grabs Aziraphale’s hand. “Come on deck with me, angel! Look how I’ve thwarted God’s will!” 

Aziraphale follows because he’s frightened and curious. He doesn’t follow because he’s hopeful. At least that’s what he tells himself. 

The storm has calmed to a steady drizzle. The waves still roll against the Ark furiously, but the wind has died down. Crawly opens his wings and beckons for Aziraphale to come with him. Aziraphale follows. Crawly circles down to the water, until his feet are almost touching it. 

“What am I looking at?” Aziraphale asks. 

A moment later a long horn juts through the surface of the water. It’s attached to a whale. 

Crawly laughs as a second whale rises from the depths. “That!” he cries. Aziraphale thinks he can hear joy in Crawly’s voice. “That is your unicorn!” 

Crawly flies in circles. “Take that, Ineffable Plan!” he shouts. 

Aziraphale can’t help himself. He smiles. 

FIN

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot find the Tumblr post, but someone else should be totally credited with the idea of Crawly/Crowley turning the unicorns into narwhals. It's an awesome idea that I could not get out of my head. If you are that person, please let me know! 
> 
> And here is: [ stuff about narwhals!](https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/unicorn-of-the-sea-narwhal-facts)


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